Funny Business
by shewhomutters
Summary: Lin likes having bath time to herself. With no interruptions. More Lumi : fluffiness ahead.


_Note: This fic is inspired by a recent headcanon on tumblr that Lin adopted Scoochy and Bumi is a sort of father figure to him._

"Hey, Bumi!"

"Hey, man."

"You looking for my mom?" Skoochy asks, popping up from the couch. The seventeen-year-old is carving something. There are green wood shavings littered everywhere.

"Yeah actually," Bumi replies. Skoochy smirks and takes his feet off of the coffee table.

"She's in the bath, you shouldn't bug her... But by all means be my guest," the ex-vagabond says deviously. He stands with the carving and goes to the back door. "I'll just be slipping out for a bit."

Bumi laughs.

"Alright, thanks man. Tell Jinora I say hi," the commander replies.

Skoochy narrows his eyes at him.

"Yeah I will. But hey, no funny business up there," he warns. "That's my mom naked in that tub."

Bumi holds up his hands innocently.

"Hey, nothing funny about this business."

Skoochy grins.

"Okay, you kids have a good time!" In a flash, the ex-vagabond is gone. Bumi takes the kid's blessing and starts up the stairs.

…...

Lin rests in a large bathtub filled with cold water. She has her head back at the edge, eyes closed, allowing the liquid take the soreness out of her bones. Lin likes this time. It is the only part of her day that she can actually relax. After being on her feet for hours she likes to come home and just soak...

Lin hears someone ease the door open and enter. She catches the squeak of an army boot.

_Bumi_

Lin cracks her eyes open, she turns her face to peek at him. He's leaning against the sink, grinning like an idiot. She rolls her eyes, exasperated.

"Two minutes. Can't I get two minutes away from you people?"

Bumi is still smiling, his eyebrows raised higher than Republic City's scenic view tower. Lin's eyebrows shoot up in return. She rests her dripping arm on the side of the bathtub. Bumi just shakes his head chuckling. He doesn't say anything to her though, he just pulls a chair up to the wall and sits, watching. Lin clears her throat, feeling awkward.

"Where's Skoochy?"

"He slipped out."

"Oh."

Bumi stands and scoots his chair closer to the tub. He sits, resting with his elbows on his thighs, watching her with a devilish grin on his face. Lin sighs, she knows what he's doing... or trying to do. She pretends to act nonchalant as she takes some soap and works on scrubbing her arms.

Bumi scoots his chair a little closer. He is fascinated with Lin in the bath. The skin of her shoulders and upper chest shine with water droplets, pale arms glowing with soap suds. The damp tips of her hair stick to her neck and shoulders. She seems to be at quite a disadvantage, being the fact that she is the one nude and he is the one inching his way closer every few seconds.

Lin shoots him a glance as she finishes with her arms and neck. He's observing her skin thoughtfully. The commander gets up and moves his chair almost to the tub, turning it to straddle the back. He places his arms on the rest, chin in hand.

The metalbender suppresses a laugh and moves to wash her legs. Her knees peek up over the bathtub and she lifts each limb to scrub away the dirt.

"Are you looking for something?"

Bumi blinks.

"Hm?"

Lin drops the cloth in the water, drowning the suds. She crosses her arms over the side of the bathtub and rests her chin on them, watching as the Commander takes this opportunity to close the distance between his chair and her bathtub.

He peeks over into the water only to be sadly disappointed that he can't see anything. There is simply a mass of foggy liquid and swirling bubbles. He hears Lin laugh. She flicks water in his direction.

"HA. You are ridiculous."

Bumi smacks his forehead.

"I knew you were onto me."

She laughs again, swirling the water. He is easily distracted by the sight of Lin's leg, rising and falling from the surface of the bath.

"I can only figure you out too easily, Commander."

"And I thought my plan was genius!"

He grins and decides to settle for looking at her face, tracing the milky skin of her arm with his finger.

She smiles and closes her eyes as he drags his fingertips over to her cheek, tracing her scars, following the curves of her lips, tapping her lightly on the end of her nose. She sighs.

"So, any other reason why you might be here?"

Bumi shrugs.

"Nah, I just really wanted to see you naked."

"Patience, young grasshopper," Lin says laughing. "I have to get out eventually."

He flashes his teeth and kisses her forehead before she leans back to dunk her head under. She can't hear him say it but as he watches the water churn where her face was, he realizes to what extent he cares for her.

"You make me really miss you, Chief."


End file.
